Hero coach driver gave his life as he ploughed into mountainside tree to save 53 lives in Alps crash

Hero coach driver gave his life as he ploughed into mountainside tree to save 53 lives in Alps crash

Hero coach driver gave his life as he ploughed into mountainside tree to save 53 lives in Alps crash

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Crash: the bus was ferrying staff back to Britain following the end of the ski season when it veered off the road near Alpe d'Huez and burst into flames

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Investigations into the crash are ongoing, but early suggestions indicate the vehicle may have had problems with the brakes

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UK travel organisation Abta said the Britons were staff who were on their way home having been working for a Brighton-based ski company at Alpe d'Huez and other resorts

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At least four people were said to have been seriously injured, with those hurt being treated in local hospitals

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A helicopter was scrambled to the scene where firefighters battled to put out the flames

A British coach driver killed in a smash in the French Alps was today hailed a hero after ploughing into a tree on a mountain side to save his passengers.

The 64-year-old man shouted frantically, “The brakes have failed”, before deliberately veering into the tree to avoid going over the cliff edge.

The driver, with Sunderland-based TGM, died instantly on the notorious twisting descent from the Alpe D’Huez resort.

Some of his 53 passengers — seasonal staff with firm Skibound — were catapulted out. Others — including Londoner Matthew Beauchamp, 19 — leapt for their lives as fire engulfed the coach.

Mr Beauchamp’s family described the driver as “a hero”. His brother Marcus told the Standard: “The driver stood up and shouted ‘the brakes have failed’. He steered the coach into a tree rather than a cliff edge.

“The coach caught fire straight away. My brother smashed a window with a hammer and the other passengers all managed to jump out.

“The driver saved everyone’s life by steering into the tree rather than letting it go over the edge and killing everyone else.”

Mr Beauchamp, originally from Stoke Newington but now living in Bristol, needed 24 stitches in his foot.

Three of 28 passengers who needed medical treatment remain in hospital with serious injuries. One, a woman, is believed to have suffered 80 per cent burns.

French transport minister Frédéric Cuvillie praised “the remarkable courage of the driver” and said: “You can’t call it a miracle because there is one dead and many wounded. But the human toll could have been much heavier.

“The driver’s courage saved many lives. All the testimonies of the people we have met have confirmed this. His attitude and his actions prevented an even worse situation.”

The driver, who has not yet been named, was bringing seasonal employees of ski company Skibound back to the UK when the crash happened yesterday lunchtime.

Heath Williams, managing director of TGM, said: “We are deeply saddened to learn that one of our two drivers on board has died. We are offering our full support to his family and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time. He will be sadly missed.”

Relatives of those injured were due to travel to France today to be with them, a spokeswoman for Skibound said, while the uninjured passengers were travelling back to the UK.